University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey head coach Scott Sandelin will revisit his Spengler Cup roots in December after the Bulldog bench boss was named an assistant coach for the 2026 U.S. Collegiate Selects staff for the team that will compete in Davos, Switzerland in December.
Sandelin will serve alongside University of New Hampshire head coach Mike Souza, who will take over as the head coach after being an assistant on the inaugural 2025 team, and Cornell University head coach Casey Jones, who will join Sandelin as an assistant coach.
Sandelin joins the USCS coaching staff ahead of his 27th season as a bench boss for the Bulldogs. Since taking over the helm of UMD in 2000, Sandelin has led the UMD to the program's only three NCAA National Championships, winning titles in 2011, 2018 and 2019. The Hibbing, Minn. native has guided UMD to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including this past season, and six Frozen Fours as head coach. UMD has claimed four conference playoff titles (three NCHC, one WCHA), and put together 14 winning regular seasons, including 13 20-plus win campaigns under Sandelin, who has also had a hand in developing four Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners, including 2026 winner Max Plante. In addition, 37 of Sandelin's players have skated in the National Hockey League
Sandelin played at the University of North Dakota from 1982-86, during which he also competed in the 1982 Spengler Cup.
The U.S. Collegiate Selects open play at the 2026 Spengler Cup on Saturday, Dec. 26 against Frölunda HC of Sweden before facing host HC Davos on either Dec. 27 or Dec. 28. The USCS roster, which will feature 25 student-athletes from all six NCAA Division I conferences, will be announced in the coming months. Last December, two Bulldogs were named to the squad – sophomore goaltender Adam Gajan and sophomore forward Zam Plante.
The Spengler Cup is the oldest invitational hockey tournament in the world, with the first edition held in 1923. The annual competition is held each December between Christmas and New Year's in Davos, Switzerland and features six teams from Europe and North America competing at the Eisstadion Davos.
